1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to medical equipment. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a cable monitoring apparatus which checks the functionality of an electrical cable adapted to connect to a medical apparatus, such as a fetal monitor.
2. Description of Related Art
Fetal monitors have been widely used and are capable of measuring a wide variety of uterine, fetal and maternal parameters, such as for example, uterine temperature, intra-uterine pressure, fetal electrocardiogram, etc. This information may be gathered via a variety of sensors (e.g., electrode arrays, pressure transducers, catheters, etc.) applied to the maternal patient. Monitoring signals, from the fetus and maternal patient, are received by the sensors, transmitted via electrical cables to a fetal monitor and displayed on the fetal monitor.
Typically, during labor and delivery, a multitude of sensors are required to receive monitoring signals containing maternal and fetal information. Application of maternal and fetal sensors is time consuming and at times unpleasant to the woman, particularly the application of invasive devices such as an intrauterine pressure transducer or a fetal scalp electrode. The proper operation of sensors is essential and clinicians continually monitor the various sensors and the associated systems to check functionality and to insure the sensors are providing accurate information.
When a sensor is not functioning properly or not providing accurate information, it becomes necessary to troubleshoot the entire fetal monitoring system to determine the origin of the malfunction. One troubleshooting step includes determining if the origin of the malfunction is hardware related, in particular a faulty sensor and/or electrical cable. Typically, electrical cables are easier to diagnose and replace since electrical cable replacement usually does not require the removal and reapplication of the sensor. Reusable cables may cost much more than disposable sensors, making the potentially unnecessary replacement of cables wasteful. Therefore, there is a need for a cable monitoring apparatus for determining whether the fetal monitoring cables are functioning properly.